Tishwash: Prime Minister’s Advisor Announces US Treasury Support Mechanisms for Iraq
Today, Sunday, the Prime Minister’s Advisor, Mazhar Mohammed Salih, announced the mechanisms of the US Treasury’s support for Iraq since 2003, while he indicated the continuation of consultations with the US Treasury regarding combating money laundering.
Saleh told the Iraqi News Agency (INA): “The cooperation and coordination between Iraq and the US Treasury extends back to the first years since the change of the former regime,” indicating that “the Treasury played an important supporting role in supporting the Paris Club Agreement in 2004 concerned with writing off Iraq’s debts called pre-1990 debts, and the presence of Treasury representatives in the Paris Club Agreement Secretariat helped ensure the writing off of 80% or more of the former regime’s debts.”
“The US Treasury succeeded in supporting infrastructure financing in Iraq through the conference held in the Spanish capital Madrid on October 23-24, 2003. Its primary goal was to mobilize financial support for the reconstruction of Iraq after the US-led invasion in 2003.
Seventy countries and international organizations participated in the conference,” he added, explaining that “the conference was able to collect pledges amounting to about $33 billion, but a large part of these amounts was in the form of loans or technical support, and not all of it was direct financial aid.”
He explained that “the US Treasury contributed to establishing the Iraqi payments system in 2006 through a direct technical agreement with the Central Bank of Iraq to establish a wholesale payments system between the Central Bank on the one hand and the banks and the government in transferring funds and settling them electronically on the other hand, in addition to entering the era of settling bank checks electronically as well, which are matters in financial technology that are being introduced for the first time in our country
Noting that “from the history of the important assistance provided by the Treasury, it has played an important role in replacing the local, fast-forgery edition of the dinar that was issued during the nineties siege in the largest campaign witnessed by Iraq between late 2003 and early 2004 with the international edition of the dinar, according to the highest international technical specifications.”
He stressed that “since the signing of the Strategic Framework Agreement in 2008 until today, there have been continuous consultations between representatives of the financial and monetary authorities in our country and the treasury to cooperate in combating money laundering and the proceeds of crime and terrorism in a manner that achieves governance and compliance for our financial and banking system as well as its optimal integration into the global financial and economic climate link
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Tishwash: Al-Sudani and Czech Ambassador discuss developing relations with the European Union and stopping the war in Gaza and Lebanon
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani discussed with the Czech Ambassador to Iraq, Jan Schneidov, the necessity for the European Union countries to work to pressure towards stopping the war in Gaza and Lebanon, stressing the importance of delivering urgent relief and humanitarian aid.
Al-Sudani’s media office stated in a statement received by {Al-Furat News} that “the latter received the new Czech Ambassador to Iraq, Jan Schneidov, where he congratulated him on assuming his duties in Iraq. During the meeting, bilateral relations between the Czech Republic and Iraq were discussed, in addition to ways to develop them in various fields, in a way that achieves common interests.”
Al-Sudani stressed the “importance of the European Union countries working to pressure to stop the war on Gaza and Lebanon,” stressing the “need to deliver urgent relief and humanitarian aid to limit the serious repercussions caused by the war on the region and the world.” link
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Tishwash: Article 140 dispute resolved.. Nineveh announces readiness for census day and refutes fears
Nineveh Governorate, northern Iraq, is preparing to conduct a general population census on November 20 and 21, in the first census to be conducted in the country since 1997 .
The population census issue represents a thorny political issue in Iraq, more than it is an organizational procedure, due to its connection to the election process and the quota system on which the political process in Iraq is based after the American invasion .
The total number of Iraqis living inside the country is estimated at about 43 million people, while the number of Iraqis abroad is more than six million, distributed across about 40 Western and Arab countries .
The Ministry of Planning confirms that the aim of the census is to establish a correct and real database on the population to ensure the fair distribution of resources and financial dues to all governorates, in addition to relying on census data in future development programmes.
The ministry points out that the general population census will not deal with the issue of the sectarian, national and religious affiliation of Iraqis, in a new indication that the citizen will not be asked about his sectarian affiliation, which is considered a positive step in the view of Iraqis who oppose the procedures for establishing sub-identities in Iraq .
Fears in Nineveh
Although the census seeks to achieve development goals, political parties in Nineveh have raised some concerns about including disputed areas and displaced people from the province in the census data for the Kurdistan Region .
In this context, Ahlam Al-Kakai, a member of the House of Representatives for Nineveh Governorate, warned against including villages from Nineveh Governorate in the Kurdistan Region in the population census process that will begin next month .
Al-Kakai told Shafaq News Agency, “Some villages in Al-Hamdaniya district in Nineveh, especially the Kakai and Arab villages, were included in the population census in Dohuk Governorate .”
She pointed out that she had communicated with the local authorities in Nineveh and the Statistics Department in Nineveh to find out the reason for including areas of Nineveh in the region in the census, indicating that these authorities had confirmed that this procedure had come in an organizational and administrative manner in agreement between the Iraqi Ministry of Planning and the Kurdistan Regional Government, and that including areas of Nineveh in the census to the region represents a dangerous step and may pave the way for more dangerous subsequent steps, according to her .
Hosting the wallets
These concerns prompted the provincial council to host Nineveh Governor Abdul Qader Al-Dakhil and Nineveh Statistics Director Nawfal Suleiman to discuss these concerns. Provincial Council member Marwan Al-Taie confirmed the council’s rejection of the deployment of Kurdistan Region statistics teams in the disputed areas within the administrative borders of Nineveh Governorate .
Al-Taie told the agency, “The council hosted the governor of Nineveh to verify the information indicating the deployment of census teams affiliated with Kurdistan in the villages and areas of Nineveh located within the disputed areas that are under the control of the Kurdish forces .”
He added: “The Nineveh Statistics Directorate confirmed that its teams will be deployed in all disputed areas within the administrative borders of Nineveh, and that there is coordination between the Iraqi Ministry of Planning and the Kurdistan Regional Government regarding work in areas under the control of the Peshmerga forces, which are administratively affiliated with Nineveh Governorate .”
Disputed
In contrast, Nineveh Governor Abdul Qadir Al-Dakhil announced that all areas affiliated with Nineveh Governorate, according to the administrative borders that were adopted before April 2003, will be included in the census and within the data specific to Nineveh Governorate, and not within the data of the Kurdistan Region .
Al-Dakhil told Shafaq News Agency, “Nineveh has obtained the first place in Iraq in conducting the experimental population census,” stressing the readiness of the census teams to complete the national census mission on the twentieth and twenty-first of this month. He pointed out that there will be a holiday and a curfew on the census days, calling on the people to cooperate with the census teams in order to accomplish development matters in the governorate and all of Iraq .
Al-Dakhil stressed that Nineveh has been subjected to great injustice and oppression throughout the past years due to the failure to conduct a population census, indicating that the official data of the Iraqi state has proven the population of Nineveh to be less than 3 million people, while the real number may exceed five million, indicating that this has had a negative impact on Nineveh and its budgets from the federal government .
Regarding the disputed areas, Al-Dakhil confirmed that there is joint coordination between the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government to conduct a population census in the disputed areas in Nineveh Governorate .
He stated that “all the inventory, numbering and census operations that are taking place in the disputed areas will be recorded in the data of Nineveh Governorate,” indicating that those areas will include all the lands within the administrative borders of Nineveh before April 2003 .
Displaced people from Sinjar
Regarding the displaced people from Nineveh, especially the Yazidi component displaced from Sinjar district to the Kurdistan Region, Al-Dakhil confirmed that the population census process will prove their residence within their original areas and not in the areas to which they were displaced. He pointed out that the displaced people’s form for the census will include a box about the original place of residence to confirm the areas of the displaced people, especially from Sinjar .
Joint coordination
However, the Nineveh Council member for the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Ahmed Al-Kiki, confirmed that the census work in the disputed areas is being carried out in coordination between the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Region, while he explained that the statements of some officials, representatives and members in Nineveh reflect their lack of knowledge of the cooperation taking place between Baghdad and Erbil in this regard .
Al-Kiki told the agency, “There is great coordination between the Federal Statistics and Geographic Information Systems Authority and the Statistics Authority in the Kurdistan Region, to discuss the joint preparations underway to implement the general population and housing census scheduled to be conducted on the twentieth of this November .”
Al-Kiki added: “The purpose of the census is clear to everyone, which is to draw a clear picture of the reality of the situation in order to develop plans, policies and economic and investment strategies to advance the reality of development and improve the level of services provided to citizens.” He pointed out that the talk of some members of the Nineveh Provincial Council are ill-considered statements that have no connection to the reality that reflects the strength and solidity of the great cooperation between the central and regional governments .
Ready to set up
Regarding the preparations for the census process, the Director of Nineveh Statistics, Nawfal Suleiman, announced the readiness of the statistics teams in the governorate to conduct the general population census process on November 20 and 21 .
Suleiman said in a statement to Shafaq News Agency: “His department was able, in a short period of time, to prepare approximately 11 thousand people to participate in the national census campaign in Nineveh,” adding that “the census teams have completed 97 percent of the enumeration and numbering work, and it is scheduled to complete the enumeration and numbering of buildings within the next two days in the remaining areas located in the Hatra district.”
He concluded by saying: “900,000 buildings were counted and numbered in Nineveh, while 1.1 million were counted in Baghdad and 600,000 in Basra. This is evidence that Nineveh is still ahead of many governorates in population.” link
